3 ways you’re still screwing up social media

Staffing, automation, and shoddy metrics can undermine the best of online branding. Here’s what you should know.

By David ZaleskiFeb. 14, 2014

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A lot of agencies may take for granted the nuances and professionalism required to execute successful social media marketing. Here are three common blunders:

Hiring people for social media management who just know how to use the platforms.

One big mistake still being made by the industry is hiring people (usually interns) to manage branded social media accounts simply because they know how to use Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Most everyone knows how to use these networks, but that knowledge itself isn’t enough.

Instead, you need a social media team with specialized skills. This isn’t to say that you have to hire two to three people specifically for social media, but what you should do is assign your existing creative team to help with social media outreach. This might include getting an editor to write compelling posts, a copy writer to proofread them, a graphic designer to create images, etc. Your social media manager can be the leader in coordinating all your social media activity, but don’t rely on him or her for everything.

Coordinate your social media efforts with those of a talented team that will give you the most impact for your post or tweet.

Over-automating your social media outreach

When applications like HootSuite, TweetDeck, and TwitterFeed came out, they were very exciting for marketers looking to save time and increase efficiency on social media. However, these programs have become way too addictive for the industry. Some companies spend all their social media management time scheduling posts and tweets, rather than actually interacting with followers and fans.

If you’re wondering why your social base is disengaged, the answer may be found in your highly automated outreach process. Brands should have an actual human doing social media management, which is more than just making sure things are posted, tweeted, or pinned. It’s about facilitating a tone and personality for your brand, as well as creating a friendly customer service vehicle to help customers. Your fans and followers want and deserve a personal touch; otherwise they are just statistics and not engaged members of your online community.

Focusing on ‘likes’ rather than increasing ‘people talking about this’

For Facebook specifically, you may be looking at the wrong metric for success. Most brands track the number of “likes” to see how well they are promoting themselves on the platform. However, much like Twitter’s retweets, Facebook’s “people talking about this” metric is much more insightful and powerful.

You could have a ton of “likes” on your Facebook page, but if you’re not igniting meaningful discussion among your fans, you’re not really engaging or saying anything relevant. Focus more on engagement, not just statistics.

Dimple Thakkar ends our conversation by explaining why reducing over-automation and focusing on a different success benchmark on Facebook will help your brand connect in more meaningful ways with consumers.